VoV Offers Shows On Demand & Live Sports Broadcasts

If you crave a taste of truly local radio or TV programming, now you can have it anytime you like by “tuning in” the new Voice Of Vashon website at VoiceOfVashon.org.  Want to enjoy the thrill of high school sports from the comfort of your home?  You can listen to VoV play-by-play action and color commentary as the Vashon High School Pirates go up against their competitors in the Nisqually League.

The new VoV site brings to life the station’s vision of Island powered media, featuring community events and original shows created by and for Vashon-Maury Islanders. You’ll find a diverse collection of TV and radio shows on demand, just a button click away. VoV viewers and listeners are tuning in from as far away as Boston, Alaska, Hawaii, England and Spain.

Prose, Poetry and Purpose is a new radio program created by Islander March Twisdale. She learned to self-produce the show through VoV’s Open Studio, a free drop-in workshop for Islanders who want to create radio programs.  March invites authors to discuss their work and the social messages and political ideas that inform their writing. Her first guest, Terrance Hayes, is the author of Lighthead, Wind in a Box, Hip Logic, Muscular Music, and a winner of multiple awards, including the coveted Guggenheim Fellowship.

Musical Evolution is another new VoV radio program hosted by Island musician and firefighter Jason Everett. With his show, you are introduced to an exciting and diverse array of rhythms, tones, and instruments from many world cultures. Jason is a composer, arranger, and producer who plays various stringed and percussion instruments. The show is part of his larger goal to expand audience awareness of world fusion music.

There are several shows to enjoy at VoiceOfVashon.org that were recorded in the station’s early days.  Barstool Mountain, hosted by Tom Hughes & Liz Shepherd, is dedicated to country music songs that come directly from the heart of the American experience. Listen to Celtic Aire and you will hear Scottish and Irish tunes chosen by host John Dally, a piper with over 40 years experience. Tune in to Deviled Eggs for a music and comedy show that highlights the oddities and absurdities of every day life. From bubble gum taste tests to the semantics of the English language to the historical significance of Silly Putty, Deviled Eggs is intriguing and intelligent, confounding and kooky.

Hoytus Interruptus is a spoken word program written and produced by Jeff Hoyt. If you’ve lived on Vashon for very long, chances are you’ve heard Jeff’s mellifluous voice at an event or variety show. A radioman and civic-minded Islander, Jeff emcees auctions, facilitates events and provides color commentary for our beloved Strawberry Festival parade. It turns out he also tells stories. Jeff says Hoytus Interruptus means “true stories, cool music, and conversation that doesn’t suck.” He calls it “lyrical story-telling.”

Another Island storyteller is Teresa ‘T’ Martino Yamamoto who shares stories and music about people and animals in her Wolf at the Door  program. T is the founder and director of Wolftown where injured or orphaned wild animals are rehabilitated before returning them to the wild.

Listen to Voice of Vashon Radio Theater and you are treated to a series of short plays produced by the Vashon Park District and Performance Exchange.  It was the brainchild of island producer Jeanne Dougherty and then Park District Program Director Susan McCabe.

Vashon is fortunate to have John Midgley on Voice of Vashon after a six year run at KBCS with his Seattle morning jazz show. Listen to his radio program Jazz Kaleidoscope for music that encompasses all of modern jazz, bridging everything from the Fifties to today’s new creations. It is a showcase for John’s eclectic taste in jazz.

VoV’s longest-running show is The Jazz Guy, a delightfully eclectic mix of some of the world’s best jazz. Since the first show in 1999, former Hollywood screenwriter Bill Wood and his audio engineer Michael Golen-Johnson have produced over 300 shows with themes ranging from Jazz About Really Rotten People to Jazz About Love.

There are also video programs available that you can view on demand at VoiceOfVashon.org. The Vashon Hysterical Society offers skits that lovingly parody Island life. The creative ensemble of writers, musicians and actors presented sketch comedy and original songs at the Vashon Theatre last year. Want to know how to adopt a dog, care for a cat or address problem pet behaviors? Pets to Go is a fun instructional TV series highlighting pets and how to care for them. Pets to Go is produced by Islander Wendy Nickolay, an avid animal lover, filmed by Island artist Pam Ingalls and hosted by VoV’s Susan McCabe. Arts On The Air will feature the popular VAA Arts & Humanities series and performances by Island artists.

This school year, VoV is again broadcasting live Vashon High School sports events. Kevin Linnell, who does color commentary, says “We really enjoy doing these broadcasts to generate community support for our local sports teams.”  John Yates does play-by-play, JoJo Weller provides statistics while Dan Schueler and Michael Golen-Johnson handle the technical side. The next live sports broadcasts are VHS basketball games against Cascade Christian on Thursday, January 30, with the boy’s varsity team at 5:15PM and the girl’s varsity team at 7:00.  

All of the on demand shows, live broadcasts and more are available to you for free at VoiceOfVashon.org. To learn more about creating your own show with VoV’s Open Studio, contact Susan McCabe at SusanM@VoiceOfVashon.org.